Best Treatment For Depression – Not Medication

If you are clinically depressed, then you are probably wondering what the best treatment for depression is.

How should you go about managing this stupid, confusing, but dreadful thing known as depression.

If you are hoping I am going to mention prescription antidepressants, then you are wrong. Majorly wrong. Instead I’ll mention why you should not take them.

From someone who struggled and hit rock bottom to coming out on top, below is what I did and fully recommend.

I know some people may say prescription antidepressants is the only way to go, but I am telling you not to go down that route. The side effects are definitely something you want to avoid.

And actually according to the World Health Organization, more than 300 million people in the world suffer from major depressive disorder, and unfortunately antidepressants only work for 50% of that population.

Try what I recommend first.

You owe yourself that much.

What should you do? What are the best natural ways to cure depression? Talking from experience, I implemented or altered several things in my life that helped my case of depression.

Yes, these things changed my state of mental health drastically.

In my eyes, here is the best natural treatments for depression.

Guide To Beat Depression

Before you go on saying this won’t work and you already tried these. Did you really try it?

For those that find prescriptions to work, I understand they are so popular because they do the magic for you (after getting past the hard part of adjusting to the meds).

So yes this (antidepressants) comes across as a simple way to cure your depression. But does it really cure your depression? Or does it just hide it so well, you think it’s gone.

A lot of you don’t understand the long-term harm you are doing to yourself by taking prescription antidepressants.

Not to mention, that finding the right pill for you could take months.

According to healthline, the two common ways of treating major depression are psychotherapy and antidepressant medication.

However, interestingly, one doctor suggests that in the long run, depressed people are better off if they never take any medication to begin with.

Jeffrey R. Vittengl, PhD, professor of psychology at Truman State University in Missouri says that there are evident short-term benefits of antidepressants, but the longer-term picture is very different.

Over a nine year period, this doctor discovered that the depressed people who received adequate treatment, those who took no medication were observed to be doing better than those who took medication.

Try what I recommend and really give it a go. Don’t quit. In a couple months, if nothing is working out naturally, then fine, discuss with your doctor what your next course could be.

These things are more simple than you think. But you got to stick with it like I did.

I stuck with these until this became my normal lifestyle.

Yes, there are benefits to these methods physically and mentally. But that is not the case of why you will feel better.

You will feel better because doing these simple, yet great things will change you.

Change you in a way that gives you satisfaction and elevates your mood because you are changing. You are changing everything about your lifestyle from what it was before.

That’s where the key is.

You are doing the work. Not some pill. And because you are doing the work to get better, this gives you the positivity you need to filter out the negativity. Your positives, your satisfaction, your sense of change will dominate the negativity depression fills you with.

But do it every single day. That is what health and happiness is.

Depression is like you are drowning and there is a rope tied to your leg on one end and a huge rock on the other that is pulling you down from the surface and into the depths of the water.

You panic and don’t know what to do. The depression tells you there is nothing you can do. And you believe it. So you let it pull you down. Nothing comes to mind that will save you.

The depression doesn’t let your mind think of anything that will save you.

But a life-jacket is thrown at you from afar and so you put it on and start floating unable to move because of the rock and rope from the water that is still tied to you. But you are breathing and not dying. You just can’t do anything.

The life-jacket is your pill. Your antidepressants. They relieve you from your suffering but your problems still exist.

But then instead of the life-jacket, you use your strength, your mind and your choices to fight your hardest to untie the rope letting it sink to the bottom with the rock.

And you swim to shore. That is you doing it yourself. That is you beating your depression from what you did. And that is why it feels so good. You changed and you stuck with it. You did it naturally.

The analogy sounds cheesy, but you get the point.

Trust me. When I was depressed, I always thought the only way to get better was to go on antidepressants.

I didn’t want to be that person. Riding out the side effects and then having my mood lifted due to some magical pill … if they worked.

I would still be the same person, just with some chemical help, my mood would be altered.

My problems would still exist and I would not be doing anything natural to fight them.

Antidepressants don’t take away your problems, they just hide them. And until I remember my problems are still there and I did nothing to fight them but take some pills, my depression still exists.

The problem is that people don’t want to fight their problems, they just want them to disappear.

Unfortunately antidepressants do just that. And that is why people are so appealed to them.

They are such an easy cure to just take all your problems, all your negativity and throw it in a box that will never be opened again. But the box will eventually open up again.

I am not trying to be cheesy or philosophical if it may come across that way. This just may be difficult to understand.

Depression doesn’t even make sense and is one of the hardest things to understand. But it’s the depression that brainwashes you to thinking this way and that nothing can be done.

So what I am saying is don’t go down that route of antidepressants. You may not agree with me, but I don’t care. It is what I did and it worked.

It’s not a finished process. It’s always a process. It’s life that I keep healthy and happy everyday. But I work so hard to do it. And the work feels so good.

People don’t understand that antidepressants is not the route one should go down until natural alternatives are tried. Like really tried!

How long will you be on antidepressants? Your whole life? Once you start, you never envision when the time will come to get off them.

The funny thing is that natural supplements actually work to boost your serotonin levels. Do people not realize this?

That is what you all want out of antidepressants and that is what we all think they do. Restore or replenish your serotonin levels.

People get turned off about the word “natural” or “supplement” I guess. They come across as “vitamins” that may not do anything. Well let me tell you that they do work.

5-HTP works mainly to elevate your mood by increasing serotonin levels. Maybe people think this should kick in right away since it’s a natural remedy.

No, just like antidepressants, you are told to give your pills several weeks to even months to start working.

5-HTP will start to work after a couple weeks. For me, it was around 2 weeks until I noticed mood elevations.

This did wonders for me. No side effects. Nothing. Just me getting that sense of general well-being. Naturally.

Which in turn made me implement other natural remedies in my life to cure my depression. I stuck with all of these until the present day.

The weird thing is that it didn’t feel like I treated my depression.

It just felt like from everything I was doing, from the changes in my life-style, to the changes I made for myself, to the changes I made to my thinking and my mind, making it all happen just slowly washed away my depression.

It’s like the positivity was just overriding the negativity every single day, but I did it.

And that is what I do today. It’s what I do everyday. It’s an open battle but positivity wins everyday.

I am not trying to say just snap out of it. That is literally the worst thing you can say to someone who is depressed.

Snapping out of it is impossible. You just can’t do it. Healing depression takes time. The hole takes time to lose its gap.

What I am saying is take it slow. Work everyday a little harder. Don’t overwhelm yourself but at least try to get better everyday. Do something. And these things will add up.

And I was at the lowest low for the worst reasons. Believe me. It was excruciation and I came so close that I don’t even want to talk about it …

I never realized my actions, my thought process, my way of life, my choices, my mind was the key to everything about my mental health – not some pill.

I am not going to get into these much because some of them are self-explanatory while some of them you need to figure out yourself. Work hard, love the work, and you will get better.

1) Natural Supplements actually do work. And this is something you don’t have to work hard to do. Think of these natural supplements as antidepressants, but natural antidepressants.

This one is actually huge.

You take antidepressants because they lift your mood and once your mood is lifted, then hopefully you have the mindset to change everything about your current state.

Well, natural supplements lift your mood too.

5-HTP is my number one recommendation that worked great for me. And once my mood was elevated, it was much easier to do the next things on this list.

2) Healthy Diet. Yeah, you’ve probably been told this before. You’re probably annoyed of it and think how can a healthy diet cure my depression.

But nutritional deficiencies can be responsible for symptoms of depression, which is why implementing a healthy diet with proper nutrition can help your case.

And another thing about eating healthy is that it’s not about the healthy crap you’re putting into your body. It’s knowing that you are doing it. And that feels so good. The satisfaction is real.

3) Talk Therapy also is a big help. It definitely was for me.

One of the main symptoms of depression is isolation. Depression strikes you down and there is no one to help you. No one that you would even want to help you. You feel like your problems would just be adding to someone elses’ problems.

We all get this. We don’t want to open up. Why would we? Depression seems embarrassing and unattractive but we have the stigma to blame for those thoughts.

I am telling you to just go talk to someone. A counselor preferably. A stranger is easier to really open up unless you feel comfortable opening up with your closest friend or family member.

I know I didn’t. If you are, then good for you because that is how it should be.

Just talk to them whoever it is. They don’t even have to respond. Them just listening is the key. You are getting you feelings out there and heard and that feels like you are throwing the negativity out of you.

4) Exercise. Again, it’s one of those things you’re probably sick of hearing. I know I was. When I read this online about treatments for depression, I was just like shut up and would close the screen.

How can exercise help my depression? Well, it certainly won’t cure it but it will make you feel that much better.

Make it a pattern. Make it part of your schedule as you would for work or school. Even if it is just a light jog or walk for 15 minutes a day.

Just do it.

It’s more of one of those satisfaction things that makes you feel good because of the change you are doing to yourself like eating healthy.

5) Focus On You. You have to work hard for this one. It sounds simple though right. Really simple.

You are the one struggling and you are the one that needs fixing. Yet those who are depressed seem to always forget about themselves and their problems and we just won’t do anything about it.

Maybe you are trying too hard to please someone else. You are always doing what they want and not what you want.

Maybe you neglect your own problems and try to fix other’s problems.

Maybe you think that what will make you happy is so unachievable. You don’t have the resources, the drive, or the support.

But what is it that you need? Really think of what you want and what you need. Fight for it and take it. This is your life and it sounds weird, but you have to be selfish and do you and make you happy.

Whatever it is, if it feels impossible. Start somewhere and do it.

Don’t worry about others. If others are apart of your happiness, then include them. If you have people in your life bringing you down or are toxic in anyway, then get rid of them.

Just do it and fight for it until you get it. Focus on you 100% everyday.

If a negative situation comes at you, leave and run away from it without second thought. If a positive comes at you, draw it in.

6) Make Change Happen. This goes along with the 5th point. But a big part of focusing on you is making it happen.

You can envision what you want. How good it would feel to have it and what this would do for you. But you never envision how to get there and so it doesn’t happen.

Whether it is something simple like getting rid of someone in your life that needs to go, then see it through.

Or if it is going on a trip. Quitting your job and finding something you like. Enrolling into a new class. Pursuing your dreams. Moving away. Being yourself.

Whatever the case, work hard to get it and take it. Don’t let others influence what you want and your decisions. If you see a good opportunity, take it. Do what you want.

7) Love Everything About You. So simple but so hard to do. Why can’t we all just be pleased with ourselves. How we look, who we are, or who we want to be.

The first step to this is not caring about anyone else’s thoughts about you. They are their thoughts and theirs alone. Who cares really what they say or think?

I am telling you right now, you will not care about anyone’s past thoughts about you later in life. None of that will matter.

People will leave your life that don’t need to be there. And so their thoughts will leave with them as well. Besides, any person of negativity or people that just bring people down, I feel sorry for.

They are too scared to focus on themselves, they just focus on everyone else.

Focus on yourself and know that the only person’s opinion that can damage you is yours.

8) Forget the Past, Live in the Present, Let the Future come. This is exactly what it means. A huge thing people do that suffer from depression is they linger.

They linger so hard in the past. What they did wrong. What could’ve went better. What could they have done to make the situation better. What could they have said differently. Who cares?

The past is not going to change and people who are not depressed will not think twice about what just happened. They have better things to do or worry about.

So in this case, now focus on the present. Live in it and make it worthy and great. By living in the present and loving what you are doing everyday, the future will come at you in the same way.

Robert Sherwood

Post navigation

10 Comments

Hi Rob,
I think what you are doing is wonderful by trying to help people who suffer with this disorder. My longtime boyfriend has depression and I know that he absolutely hates taking antidepressants, he says they make him feel completely numb. I think it’s important to know that it is ok to talk about these things and that we shouldn’t feel ashamed of it, as you pointed out. All in all, great article.

Hi Krystal, thank you for reaching out. Sorry to hear about your boyfriend. I would strongly recommend him trying natural remedies such as supplementation like I mentioned in this article. I am also happy to hear he is being open about his depression with you. That is certainly a step forward in the right direction.

I totally agree Robbie that it is still best to use natural means to treat depression instead of resorting to prescribed medications. A lot of people suffer from depression as a result of stress and hormonal changes, especially women and sadly some have become drug-dependent as a result of the prolonged use of such drugs.

Opening up to someone else could be the hardest to do for some people but I always find this very effective in managing depression. Talking to my friend/s or someone close to me or just having them listen will not only help alleviate whatever pain or stress I’m going through but it also allows me to connect with them on a deeper level.

Hi Alice, I agree with you here. Yes, depression can result from hormonal changes and stress as well as other implications, and it is important for us to give natural remedies a try before resourcing to prescribed medication. Opening up to someone is a great way to manage depression. It allows us to confront our own depression, talk about it, understand it better, and ultimately find ways to beat it.

Great post. I had tried medication in the past but I hate putting chemicals into my body. I love that you brought up natural supplements. I too take these as well. I went through a horrible depression a few months back and found out that my Vitamin D was low. I take Vitamin D each day now and it has made a huge difference. What about essential oils? Those have helped me as well just diffusing them. Thanks for all the information.

Thank you. Glad to hear you have replenished your vitamin D. Vitamins are essential for a fully operative mind and body! I will look into essential oils as I have heard great things about them also. Thank you for that.

Thank you for being so blatantly honest in your article. I think some people might disagree with you about anti-depressants, but at the end of the day honesty always triumphs BS and your audience will thank you for it – ESPECIALLY when it is the cold-hard truth. What you give here is an easy alternative to at least try. Doctors these days just hand out prescriptions for anything when they could easily suggest natural alternatives like you do before recommending prescriptions.

Thank you for your thoughts. I agree that doctors do hand out prescriptions way too easily. However, pharmaceuticals are a billion dollar industry and antidepressants are one of the mostly highly prescribed. If only they could suggest 5-HTP first. Have people give it a try before resourcing to antidepressants, I think a lot of people would find it works.

Legal

combatyourdepression.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the Amazon EU Associates Programme, affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to http://Amazon.com, http://Amazon.ca, http://Amazon.co.uk and affiliated sites.